Clara and I found a pleasant surprise at Joanns the other day….They now carry colored elastic!….in a select few colors, only available in the store (not online), and only in 1-inch wide elastic.BUT….
I’d been wanting to make Clara some skirts, so it was perfect for this:I know I say it a lot but these are so. easy. to make. And they take such a small amount of fabric that you can’t resist sewing a whole stack of them! Then throw a circle skirt over a dyed onesie and you have a simple girly outfit. Clara’s first time at church was in the outfit above.

Okay….
You’re familiar with the standard Circle Skirt Tutorial HERE.
But to save everyone time, I created a new download/printable baby skirt pattern HERE.
Yay!
– The pattern is 1/4 of a full circle and fits on a standard size paper. Easy, right?
– The skirt takes about a fat quarter of fabric (17 x17 inches are the exact pattern/circle dimensions).
– You need about 15 inches of 1-inch wide elastic for the waistband
– The skirt size is 0-3 months, with a waist size of about 14-15 inches.
• If your baby is skinnier, cut your elastic smaller.
• If your baby is fuller, cut your elastic longer and you may want to trim the smaller circle of the pattern piece down a bit.

Okay, print and cut out the pattern piece and let’s get started.You can follow the full instructions in the circle skirt tutorial.
Or, here’s the short version:You end up with a fabric circle:And you’re done!Then just give in to that sewing itch to make more, more and more…and you’ll have plenty to give away as gifts! I sent baby circle skirts to a few friends and here’s Delia’s sweet baby Natalie wearing the seersucker version. Love that little bum:She fit right in with the family’s Easter ensemble (such cute photos)

so super cute!! i made matching ‘layered skirts’ for my girls who are 8 yrs and 3 months. they turned out so great and the one for the 3 months old was so stinkin little and cute!! now i need to try this one!

Hey! I LOVE this. I have recently been crazy making diaper covers/bloomers for my little one to wear this summer with a little tank/tee. I think I’m going to add this skirt into the mix – But I have a question – where do you find good quality white onesies. The ones in the multi-packs seem a little thin and always too tight! Thanks!!!

I like the multipacks from gap or old navy- get them when there is a coupon (right now ON is 30 percent off.) I have the best luck finding online (they don’t always have in store). There is short or long sleeves.

This is too funny because I saw the colored elastic in Joann’s a couple of days ago and totally thought of you. I looked to see if they had it in bigger sizes too but no luck. I’m so glad that you were able to use the smaller one for Clara. The baby version is just too cute!

I bought several different colors of this elastic when I found it at Jo-Ann Fabrics a few weeks back. I have been wondering what to do with it. Lol. Thanks so much for the tutorial! I’m going to be making some of these for my littlest lady (5 months).

2 things: I live in Guatemala and someone just brought me your book… Love it! Also I just found wide elastic here for the first time the other day and plan on making this skirt for my one month old baby girl! You are making my day today, haha!

Yay! I saw the colored elastic at Joann’s last week and bought it in purple. I made a circle skirt for my 2 year old with it. So easy! I got a sewing machine for Christmas and I’ve been sewing only that long… So if I can make a circle skirt, anyone can!

I just picked up some of that elastic a few days ago, thinking, “how have I never noticed this here before?” It sounds new, so maybe I’m not so behind. I was totally planning on making a circle skirt with it too. My daughter just learned to walk and it’ll be so cute to see her in it.

You don’t suppose I could put this on my boy, do you? My husband just doesn’t understand why I wanted a girl so badly, perhaps I should make a circle skirt and say “see, how adorable is this pretty pink skirt!?”

Dana, thanks so much for providing this pattern and tutorial (definitely going in my file for baby showers!)
I understand that these are copyrighted, is there a fee we can pay in order to make and sell these sweet little skirts?

I LOVE this pattern! Making a baby one right now (per your pattern) but then plan on branching out and making one for me, my 1 yr. old niece etc. Have one question, I’ve gotten the circle cut out, zig zag stitched on both circles since I don’t have a serger, hemmed the bottom of the skirt, and now I have the elastic stitched together and ready to pin to the skirt.

This is probably going to be a stupid question…but, when you sew from one pin to the other, you said to stretch the elastic. Do I just stretch it from one pin to the next pin, sew that area, take the pin out, then hold/stretch to the next pin? I just want to make sure I am doing this correctly.

Also, when I sew the elastic on, should I use a 2.5 length straight stitch?

Thanks so much for this tutorial and hopefully for clearing up my dumb questions :)!

Thanks for this pattern! it looks easy cheese-y 😛 I have a 3 wk old girl and have been feeling the urge to sew things for her, but with 3 other kids, 13 months, 2 yrs and 4yrs old time is minimal for such things. Since this is my only girl I am dying to sew some non-pink girly stuff for her. This pattern is just the ticket!

Perfect tutorial, thanks! I live in Alaska with no JoAnn’s, so I was bummed I couldn’t get this elastic, but just wanted to let you know that I found it on their site online now! Looking forward to making this for my little bug. 🙂

I just followed your tutorial and made my 3 year old a skirt for her Minnie Mouse Halloween costume. I am a novice sewer and this was the very first skirt I have ever made. It turned out awesome! She won’t stop dancing in it! Thank you for posting it. Your instructions were so clear and simple to follow. I can’t wait to make her some everyday skirts!

So excited to try this but I’m stuck at step two. I can’t sew the elastic. The machine is threaded right but my thread keeps bunching up on the elastic, similar to when the machine is not threaded we’ll. tips would be greatly appreciated!!!!

I love your tutorial! I made one of these today for my little girl and shared a link on my blog to your blog. (http://123worksforme.blogspot.com/2013/03/circle-skirt.html) Thanks for all the fabulously informative pictures to make this. Can’t wait to try this out for my older daughter and myself!

Thank you for this tutorial, I just tried it today! I loooove it! Lots of gals I know
are having girls and this will be a fun gift. I am a total novice sewer and usually
manage to screw up easy stuff, but your pictures and easy tutorial really helped!
Thank you! 🙂

Just a dumb question probably, but can you tell me what is a good type of fabric to use for these skirts? I am just getting into the sewing thing..I have a 5 mo old little girl and would love to sew her some cute little girly clothes. Just wondering what is the best type of fabric! Thanks!

I found some really cute 1inch fold over elastic at Joann in the baby section. It is by Babyville. It comes two patterns to a pack. I got a bubblegum pink and a brown with little pink polka dots pattern. I can’t wait to make these for my little niece.

I am looking to make a bunch of these for my granddaughter who lives in NC, where it is extremely hot in the summers (nothing on the legs and maybe just a baby doll top or a tank top or onesie), to help keep her cool and cute! This pattern is for 0-3 months and she is almost 4 months, what would you suggest to modify this to make it a 3-6, 6 or 6-9 month size?
Thanks!
Angel H.

Hello :]
I just started sewing about a week ago,
I made 2 of these so far, one was layered. Every time I make them I have trouble sewing the hem around the skirts.. Since it is circle shaped, it’s hard to fold the pattern in a way that stays even the entirety of the skirt.. What is the best way of going about sewing the hem?
Thank you!!

I just happened upon your site a few days ago. My first grandchild, a girl, is due this summer. I know what I will make! Thank you so much for your tutorials, you are an excellent teacher. Clara is a SWEETIE!

I LOVE this! I’m going to make a few for my niece. I saw on another comment you don’t mind if she sold them, just wanted to double check that it’d be ok for me too. I can link back to you if you would like.

Hi from Australia! I recently bought your shorts pattern (just waiting on hubby to print it off at work before I start that one!) but had the resources to try a circle skirt tonight. I had a lot of fun! I am a beginner sewer and had trouble with the elastic. Straight sewing was fine, but when I went to do the zig zag stitch the machine wouldn’t feed it? Could you give some possible reasons that you can think of? Thanks!

ummm… I think I figured out whats going on *embarrassed giggle* I’m pulling on it to stretch it to meet my fabric, but this is stopping it from feeding freely? I made another skirt with this knowledge and it is better, but I still found myself pulling from the back and it is not sewn evenly.

‘Just discovered your site… Love it!
I ran right to the fabric store, found planet fabric, and made a circle skirt just in time for my grand daughter’s 5th birthday party. The theme was “Space, Out of this world”- Perfect! You could just imagine the solar system as she twirled!
Next, I plan to make an infant Pooh Bear circle skirt.
A young friend of mine couldn’t quite figure out how to place your pattern on both folds, LOL, so I turned the pattern so that she could visualize. I re-drafted your pattern and made it into a crisp new pdf file. Of course, I included your info, including the copyright. You are welcome to use it if you like. Just let me know.
Karmel